The present invention relates generally to the field of temperature-controlled display devices (e.g. refrigerated display devices or cases, etc.) having a temperature-controlled space for storing and displaying products such as refrigerated foods or other perishable objects. More specifically, the present invention relates to a refrigerated display case having an evaporative condensate dissipation system for vaporizing liquid condensate (e.g., melted frost or ice from a cooling coil).
It is well known to provide a temperature-controlled display device (e.g., a refrigerator, freezer, refrigerated merchandiser, refrigerated display case, etc.) that may be used in commercial, institutional, and residential applications for storing or displaying refrigerated or frozen objects. For example, it is known to provide service type refrigerated display cases for displaying fresh food products (e.g., beef, pork, poultry, fish, etc.) in a supermarket or other commercial setting.
Refrigerated cases typically include cooling elements (e.g. cooling coils, heat exchangers, evaporators, etc.) that receive a coolant (e.g. a liquid such as a glycol-water mixture, a refrigerant, etc.) from a cooling system (e.g., a refrigeration system) during a cooling mode or operation to provide cooling to the temperature-controlled space. In some instances, the cooling system operates to provide coolant to the cooling element at a temperature below 32° F., thereby causing moisture from the air in the ambient environment to condense on the cooling element, and resulting in an accumulation of frost and/or ice on an exterior surface of the cooling element. The frost and/or ice can be removed (e.g. melted) from the cooling element during a defrost mode or operation. In other instances, the cooling system is operated at a temperature above 32° F. but below the ambient temperature, thereby causing moisture from the warmer ambient air to condense on the cooling element and run into a drain without requiring a defrost operation.
The melted frost, ice, or liquid (e.g. liquid condensate, water, etc.) from the cooling coil is usually routed to a suitable drain at or near the case's location. However, for implementations in which a drain is not conveniently accessible at the location of the refrigerated case, it may be necessary to allow the liquid condensate to accumulate in a suitable repository or receptacle. The repository may be configured for removal to permit manually disposing the liquid condensate (e.g. by pouring down a remote drain, etc.), or the repository may be configured to simply contain the liquid condensate until it dissipates by evaporation.
Previous evaporative dissipation systems have a number of deficiencies. For example, previous systems tend to overflow or spill when the rate of liquid condensate generated from defrosting exceeds the rate at which the liquid condensate can dissipate. This situation is exacerbated as ambient humidity rises because more defrosting of the cooling element is required, but less of the condensate evaporates in the humid conditions. Some evaporative condensate dissipation systems include an electric heater configured to expedite evaporation by heating the liquid condensate in the receptacle. However, such electric heaters can consume a substantial amount of electricity (e.g., up to 40% of the entire electrical load of the refrigerated case) and increase the cost and complexity of the refrigerated case. It would be desirable to provide a refrigerated display device or case with an improved evaporative condensate dissipation system that overcomes these and other disadvantages.
This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.